At the entrance, he waited for a few minutes, but when Violet and Michael never showed, he again began to explore his surroundings. Though there was no shelter from the marshmallow-rain, it didn’t hurt, so he didn’t mind it hitting his head and body.
In the distance, he saw the outline of what looked like hills and trees, but his view was darkened by the thunderstorm. His only glimpse of this intriguing world came with the lightning strikes. He had to admit, it was pretty wonderful. Too bad it was dark and raining marshmallow pellets.
He returned to the machine’s entrance and started pacing. He felt his nerves waver as he wondered whether anyone else would join him. The thought of being stuck there all alone made his heart race and his legs wobble.
Where are they?
Panic was creeping in. Had they tricked him because he was always so mean to them? Maybe they weren’t coming. Maybe they did this on purpose and they were leaving him up here to rot! He hugged himself and walked in a circle. If this was a trick, he couldn’t blame them. He’d played a lot of mean tricks on all of them−except the new girl. Maybe she’ll feel sorry for me and make them come and get me out of here. He fell to his knees and began pounding on the lid.
“Help! Somebody! Can anyone hear me? Daisy? Patrick? Michael?”
He couldn’t remember the new girl’s name. He banged his fists on the lid, and then pulled it in an upward motion as hard as he could, but it wouldn’t budge. He sat back on his heels. He was doomed. He’d be here forever−all alone.
“Is anybody there? Please! Somebody help me! Daisy? Sammie? Can you guys hear me?”
Big, tough, and mean Joe felt a lump in his throat. He was about to give up and start blubbering like an infant when he thought he heard something. It was a whirring sound. With his hands still pulling on the latch, he felt and heard it rumble. Then, it rumbled harder and louder. He yanked his hands away from the latch just as it started to shake. Still sitting on his heels, he stumbled and backed away. He waited there, crouching. His eyes were wide and ready for anything, as the thunderous rumbling grew louder and louder. As the lid rattled and shook, Joe got ready to run.
29
They’re So Big!
FINALLY, THE LATCH LOOSENED and the lid opened. A cloud of frosty smoke blasted through and continued straight up toward the top of the glass globe. Bent forward, but still ready to run, Joe waited. The smoke dissipated, but otherwise, it was quiet.
He inched closer and was about to peer down the hole when a frozen body flew through the opening right past his head and going straight up−just as he’d done. He could distinguish no facial features, but he thought it looked like the new girl. He saw a dark braid and a pink shirt. If it was her, she sure was a loud screamer!
An instant after the first body zoomed by, a second one blew past his head. Again, the face was just a blur. Like the first person, this second one was screaming−but it sounded more like a screaming baby.
Now this guy, I know.
He’d recognize Patrick’s scream anywhere.
Joe tipped his head and watched both new visitors bang their bodies against the top of the globe and fall back toward him. He could now see their faces. Yep−that’s the new girl−and yep−that’s definitely Patrick.
Joe scratched his head. Wait−what is Patrick doing up here? He’d been such a chicken back in the shed. Something went wrong.
Joe scanned the ground. He hoped they’d land on a sponge-bed like he did, or they’d be in serious trouble. He ran out into the open area in time to see Violet stop short and hover just above one of the marshmallow mattresses. Then−crash! She landed hard onto the spongy, squishy blob.
Joe sighed. Good.
She wasn’t that lucky, however, because, as soon as she made her crash-landing, Patrick followed, landing hard on top of her legs.
“Ooh-owie!” Patrick moaned.
“Ouch! Geez, Patrick!” she screamed.
Still clutching the small box, Patrick rolled off her legs.
“Sorry, Violet! It’s not my fault. It’s not like I could pick my landing spot. Are you okay?” He reached for her hand and helped her up.
“I’m fine,” she said, taking his hand.
Patrick looked around. “Whoa! What happened to this place? It’s so dark and scary. Yesterday, it was the most beautiful, sunny, and happy place in the whole world. Now, it looks totally different.”
As Patrick and Violet gathered themselves, Joe stood back and watched, shaking his head in disgust.
He shouted at them as he approached. “What are you doing here, Patrick?” Then he used a baby voice and said, “I thought you were too scared.”
“I wasn’t scared. I just thought it would be fair to let someone else enjoy the adventure.”
Joe folded his arms and sneered. “Yeah, right.”
Patrick continued. “I was holding Violet’s hand, saying goodbye … ”
“Oh−nice Patrick. What? Are you two the happy lovebirds now? Ha ha!” Joe rolled his eyes. “Holding hands. Oh, brother.”
Patrick pushed his head forward and put his hands out in front of him. “Are you finished? Can I talk?”
“Fine. Finish your lame story.”
“ … And then she−Violet−touched the gumball machine and well−you know what happens after that. That tunnel is like a vacuum!”
Forgetting his sarcasm, Joe nodded. “I know, right? That thing sucked me up before I had a chance to think. And−I don’t know what everybody was clambering about−but I don’t see what’s so great about this place. It’s been storming this weird way ever since I got here.”
Violet looked at Patrick. “What’s the deal, Patrick? I thought this place was supposed to be so beautiful and colorful and happy. I don’t like it here. It’s dark and scary. It reminds me of a creepy movie. And what’s with this weird rain?”
She put out her hand, caught a couple of rain-marshmallows, and then squeezed them between her fingers.
Patrick scratched his head trying to come up with an explanation. “I don’t know. It wasn’t like this yesterday−I swear.”
He looked down at the small box in his hand and his eyes lit up.
“Oh my gosh. I almost forgot!” he shouted.
“Forgot what?” Joe asked.
Patrick removed the lid from the small jewelry box. After the frozen vacuum ride, he’d almost forgotten the reason they were there. The three of them looked inside.
Empty!
They looked at each other.
“What in the world? Where’d they go?” Violet asked.
They looked around, but it was too dark to see much. The lightning brightened the sky, but it was brief−flashing for a split second− then more darkness. After a moment, Joe thought he heard something. He turned to follow the sound. He walked several feet and then stopped.
“Whoa!”
He backed up and called out to Patrick and Violet.
“Over here! I found them!”
Patrick and Violet ran to Joe.
Under a grove of gumball trees and protected from the marshmallow-rain, lay Vinnie and Gordy.
“Dudes! How’d you guys get so huge?” Joe asked.
The two gumball guys had returned to their normal size when they re-entered their home−the gumball machine. Though they were only as tall as Joe’s waist, they were much bigger than he’d remembered and it took him by surprise.
Gordy now had a large crack in his shell up near his head, and, like Vinnie’s, it too was turning gray. He flinched as he struggled to sit up.
“This is our normal size. We’re hardly huge, I might add.”
“Wow. This is starting to freak me out,” Joe said. He pointed at Vinnie. “What’s wrong with him?”
Vinnie wasn’t moving at all. The crack around his waist was longer and wider, and tiny cracks had formed all over his candy coating, which was now completely gray. He was lying on his back and his eyes were closed. His mouth moved, but they couldn’t hear him over the crashing thunder.
Violet too was surprised at their size−but even more surprised by Vinnie’s sickly appearance. She crouched beside them, her hands to her cheeks.
“Oh no!”
She turned to Joe and Patrick. “This is bad.”
Patrick nodded. “Real bad.”
“Sammie must be in pretty bad shape too,” Joe said. “We have to get moving−now.” He turned to Patrick. “Lead the way, man. Where’s this candy lake you guys were talking about?” He clapped his hands. “Let’s go!”
“It’s Pudding Hill,” Patrick said. “And it’s this way.”
He started walking toward a hill in the distance, his confidence growing. It was a rare occasion when he played the role of leader. And, despite being there against his wishes, he was enjoying it.
“Wait,” Joe said.
Patrick and Violet stopped and looked at him, then the three of them walked under a tree to get out of the marshmallow-rain.
“Did you two bozos forget something? What about the sick gumball dudes? How are we supposed to carry them over that mountain?”
“Oh, right. I almost forgot,” Patrick said. He lowered his head and kicked some dirt with his foot.
Some leader I am. I can’t even remember the most important part of the mission.
Patrick continued. “Well, I wouldn’t call it a mountain. It’s more like a hill.”
“Alright,” Joe said. “Is Pudding Hill just over that hill? Because we could drag them, I suppose.”
Patrick shook his head. “No way. It’s a long walk after we get over the hill−way too far to just drag them.”
Violet threw up her hands. “What are we going to do? This weird storm seems to be getting worse and there is nothing around here we can use to drag them. They can’t walk, and now they’re too big for us to carry.”
The boys agreed that they had a huge problem and time was getting away from them.
30
Cecilia
PATRICK, VIOLET, AND JOE returned to where Gordy and Vinnie lay under the gumball tree. Patrick shook his head. There was no way either of them could walk on their own. He walked in circles, pressing his fingers to his temples, desperate to come up with a plan. But he had no ideas.
As he turned to speak to Joe and Violet, an explosion of blue lightning and deafening thunder sliced the sky. It shook them to their knees. They stood up, ready to run when another bolt of electric blue lightning seared the sky. This time, it stopped mid-air and just inches from their bodies. It remained there, motionless, except for its pulsating glow. They felt its heat and wanted to run, but there was no escape. The lightning bolt was like a knife pointing at their chests.
Unable to move without touching it, they held their breath and looked at each other, waiting. As the marshmallow thunderstorm continued, the gumball world grew dark, until the only light in the whole place was the bright, blue lightning bolt shining, like a spotlight, on Patrick, Violet, and Joe.
“You guys−what do we do?” Violet whispered.
Before either of the boys could answer her, movement caught their eye. From high above, something−or someone−was walking down the lightning bolt and headed in their direction.
“What’s that?” she whispered again. She grabbed Patrick’s arm, afraid to let go.
“I don’t know,” Patrick said. “Keep still. Maybe it’ll go away.”
They hunched their shoulders and hung their heads, but it was pointless to try to hide. They were in the spotlight and they couldn’t move. The footsteps echoed and grew louder. And then−silence.
Violet lifted her head to take a peek. She let out a small cry and put her hand to her mouth.
She nudged Joe and whispered, “Look!”
Joe and Patrick looked up. Their eyes widened as Patrick grabbed Joe’s shirt. “What the−?”
Joe yanked Patrick’s hand away.
“Let go of me, doof.”
Patrick rubbed his arm as the kids stood before the lightning bolt, their legs shaking and their hearts racing.
Perched on the glowing blue lightning bolt was the most beautiful peacock they’d ever seen. This was one big bird. The smooth fur of her thin body was bright turquoise. Her narrow neck held a small turquoise head with a long, thin beak. Her vibrant green feathers fanned behind her and twinkled with sparkling gumballs that also dotted the sky with tiny lights around her head.
But her eyes were what captured their attention. The piercing green ovals were surrounded by a ring of glowing amber, and her long, glittered lashes twinkled in the darkness. She stood before them on the blazing lightning bolt, which was now motionless, but pulsated with a hot yellow light.
Off−on. Off−on.
The peacock raised her head and puffed out her chest. Waving her wing at Joe, she shouted, “You!”
Joe cringed and backed away, but the peacock continued, her voice low and forceful.
“I am Cecilia. And you have something that belongs to me. Bring them to me−now!”
Joe stammered as he tried to explain to the huge bird that he needed help carrying Vinnie and Gordy. Cecilia’s green eyes told him she wanted silence and action. Joe turned his back to her and walked toward Vinnie and Gordy. Crouching down, and gathering strength from some unknown source, he lifted Vinnie’s heavy, limp body and carried him back to Cecilia where he stood, his arms and legs burning, as he waited for her command. She bowed her head, indicating that Joe was to set Vinnie in front of her webbed feet on the pulsating lightning bolt. As he approached, he heard its buzzing and felt its intense heat. The lightning bolt floated and bobbed just above Joe’s waist and he rose up onto his toes to get high enough to place Vinnie onto the edge.
Patrick and Violet watched in frightened silence as Joe then returned with Gordy, grunting from the weight, as he carried him to the lightning bolt and placed him next to Vinnie. Gordy moaned and squeezed his eyes shut. As Joe placed him onto the lightning bolt, Gordy turned to look at his friend who lay motionless beside him.
When Joe finished, he stepped back next to Patrick and Violet. Cecilia called out to the children.
“Come. Come with me,” she called. The children looked at each other, unsure of what to do.
“Now!” Cecilia shouted.
This was no kind invitation, but an order. Joe and Violet obeyed and inched closer to the lightning bolt until it poked them at their waists. Placing their hands on its smooth edge, they started to climb up, but Cecilia shook her head. They were to stay right where they were. The lightning bolt lifted a bit, and Joe and Violet felt their feet leave the ground. They now hung from the edge of the hovering lightning bolt, leaning on their forearms and elbows. Their hands scrambled and groped to find some bump or groove to cling to, as their feet hung below them, swinging in the wind.
“Hurry up, Patrick,” Violet yelled.
But Patrick was afraid. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t get on that hot lightning rod. He stood there, immobile.
Violet lowered her head and whispered to Patrick. “What are you doing? Get up here.”
Patrick barely heard her. He backed up−one step−two steps, his eyes fixated on Cecilia. Joe and Violet watched, wondering why Cecilia was letting Patrick retreat without yelling at him. Then−they saw it. Directly behind Patrick was a creature. It was some sort of animal. Its dark red body was round−of course−as was its head. Near its forehead were horns with red smoke billowing around them. Its nostrils were large, with more red smoke shooting out like lasers. Its eyes were like silvery pieces of broken glass, and its front hoof pawed at the ground, digging up chunks of dirt with each swipe. He snorted.
From up on the lightning bolt, Violet nudged Joe and said, “Is that a … gum-bull?”
Joe nodded at Violet and then yelled at Patrick. “Dude. Look behind you!”
Patrick turned and looked straight into the eyes of the large, angry gum-bull. Oh, his breath was sour! Patrick’s baby-high scream carried across the sky, as he turned and ran toward Joe and Violet.
&nbs
p; Violet waved her hands toward her chest. “Hurry, Patrick, hurry!”
Holding onto the lightning bolt with one hand, Joe reached out his other hand to Patrick. He could see the gum-bull chasing him.
Patrick’s legs moved faster than his body. He stumbled and toppled, his hands reaching out to Joe. “Help me! Joe−help me u-u-up!”
Joe grabbed one of his hands and Violet grabbed the other. As they pulled him up, Patrick reached across the hot lightning bolt to find a jagged edge to hold onto. As he found a knob to grip, Cecilia’s wings closed to her sides and then fanned out, flapped and waved, signaling the lightning bolt to rise. Joe’s feet were flailing in the air below the lightning bolt as he and Violet tried to hang onto Patrick until his arms and elbows were secure and he could hang on without assistance.
Once Patrick was safe, the three kids looked at each other, breathing hard and unable to speak. They crooked their heads and looked down to see where the gum-bull was−but it had vanished. The only thing left was a puff of red smoke.
As soon as they’d settled in and had a decent grip on something, they felt a fast jerk to the right. Their feet flew to the left as Cecilia’s lightning bolt carried them high above the gumball world and through the powerful storm.
“Whoa! N–o–o!” Patrick yelled.
“Hang on you guys!” Joe shouted.
“Whoo-hoo! This is amazing!” Violet laughed.
A cool wind blasted their faces as the children clung to the edge of Cecilia’s lightning bolt. All they could see below were brief blasts of green, pink, and blue lightning, and then darkness. After a while, the marshmallow storm subsided but the sky remained black.
They fought for air as they sped through the sky. Patrick squeezed his eyes shut and hung on tight, hoping his glasses would stay put. This was awful. And to think only yesterday, he was frightened by a beautiful, colorful gumball world, with cute little gumball kids, and gumball houses, and gumball dogs. Oh, how he now wished for that sweet place. Daisy and Michael will never believe this. They had no idea how lucky they were to be sitting in the boring, hot shed, safe and sound.
Joe was afraid, but he was also excited. He kept thinking it was a dream. He hadn’t believed his sister or her friends about this gumball world. But they were right. He hoped the crazy peacock would take them to the happy part of the gumball world, because even though he was the oldest and he should be the leader, he was having a hard time keeping it together. He tried not to let the others see it, but he was definitely afraid.
Life In The Gumball Machine – Vinnie And Gordy’s Return Page 13